Leviticus 1:1 And the LORD called unto Moses, and spake unto him out of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying…
There is a lot of talk these days about how we should worship God. It is not an unimportant question. In fact, it is a question on which God Himself has spoken.
Leviticus 1 picks up where Exodus leaves off. In Exodus the children of Israel had built a tabernacle according to the pattern that God had given them. Now that they had this tabernacle, God told them how to use it, how to sacrifice to Him, how to serve Him, and how to worship Him. This is not a chapter, nor is this a book, to be a pattern for us today as far as the kind of sacrifices we would make to God. The thing to note is that God does have an opinion about the kind of worship He receives. It should be worship that is a response to Him and His character.
Leviticus 1:1 says, “And the LORD called unto Moses, and spake unto him out of the tabernacle of the congregation.” Then for the next seventeen verses He talks about the burnt offerings that were to be brought. These offerings were to be complete, without blemish, and voluntary.
The refrain you find throughout this chapter is the words “unto the LORD.” For instance, this sacrifice was to be “unto the LORD” in verse 2. In verse 3 it was to be “for the LORD.” Verse 5 says, “Before the LORD.” Verse 9 says, “Unto the LORD.” And it continues. Over and again it is emphasized that all that was being done was “for the LORD,” before the LORD,” “to the LORD.”
We can apply this to our own setting today. God is the One to be pleased by your service, sacrifice, and worship, not yourself, not others, not those who lived a hundred years ago, and not those who are cutting-edge today.
God is the One Who sees you and knows you to your very core. Verse 9 says that there was to be “a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD.” Men see my worship, but God knows my heart.
Also, God is the One Who provided for your salvation. God set the standard, and Jesus Christ met it. In Leviticus, we see that God is a supremely holy and righteous God. While we are not worthy, God loves us so much that He sent His worthy and only begotten Son to take our punishment and to offer us His place as accepted in God’s sight. My worship of Him is to be a reflection of Him not the time or culture around me.
I am not worshipping God if God is not being pleased.